Automations hand the repetitive, routine work to Onward — approving requests, issuing resolutions, and restocking inventory. Instead of managing these manually, they can be triggered by shipping events.
Navigate to Settings > Returns > Automation.
Settings on this page
Section | Settings |
Returns Automations |
Returns Automations
Automatically approve returns
By default every submission lands in the Manual Review queue. Turn this on and returns are approved the moment they're submitted — and if you use automatic labels, the label is generated and emailed right away.
Whether you have this on or off by default, you can set Exceptions to the base rule. For example, if Automatically approve returns is off, Exceptions can set up cases where you do approve automatically. If it is on by default, Exceptions set up cases where you do not approve automatically.
If fraud risk is detected on a return, auto-approval is skipped regardless of this setting. The return goes to manual review with a notice explaining why.
Automatically process return trigger
Issues the customer's resolution — refund, store credit, or exchange — when the selected shipping event occurs.
Trigger | When it fires |
None (manual) | Never — you process each return yourself |
Label is created | As soon as the return label is generated, typically upon return request approval |
Return is in transit | When the carrier picks up the package |
Return is delivered | When the package arrives at your return destination |
Delay — How many days to wait after the trigger before processing runs. This is your inspection buffer: it costs the customer a few days and saves you from refunding an empty box.
Automatically restock items
Adds returned items back to your Shopify inventory when the selected event occurs. Triggers are the same as auto-process, plus Return is processed.
Restocking on delivery is the common choice. Earlier triggers risk overselling — putting stock back on the shelf that isn't physically there yet.
Putting them together
Run all three and a return resolves without anyone touching it:
Customer submits → auto-approve approves it
Label is generated and emailed
Customer ships; the carrier delivers to your destination
Auto-process fires on delivery → the resolution is issued
Auto-restock fires → inventory is updated
Any mix works. Auto-approve with manual processing, manual approval with auto-processing — whatever fits how your team actually works.
Start fully manual until you've watched a few returns move through end to end, then automate the easy cases and use Exceptions to hold back the risky ones.
A note on Exceptions
All three settings have an Exceptions panel, letting you automate most returns while holding high-value or international ones for review. See Using Exceptions in Returns Settings.